Is SATAN Real???

When you think of the devil, what do you think about? The shadowy dark figure with a pitchfork and tail often in red? Perhaps you think of him as a very large beautiful angel. So often we develop ideas about spiritual concepts from movies Hollywood has produced. As a result some think of Clarence the angel in It’s a wonderful Life, or of John Travolta as an angel with a trench coat. If Satan was an angel like that, perhaps that is what he looks like. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The bible describes him this way—"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8. He is not a lion...but he is like one in nature...a stalker. His ultimate goal is to kill, steal and destroy what God has perfected.

Did you know that only 1% of today’s younger generation believe in a literal devil? Barna Group tells us: Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” As a result, the church has a major problem on its hands. If folks think Satan is not literal, then they also believe that hell is also not literal. That belief causes them to think that there are no eternal consequences for sin and rebellion against God and His rules. Yet the Bible teaches us so much differently. If we reject what the Bible teaches us in just one area, how does that affect the rest of the Word of God? Some take these non-Biblical stances simply because of ignorance. In this age of Biblical ignorance, when we don’t take the time to read and study what God has to say about angels, demons and devils, all too many form false doctrines and then doubt the reality of Satan and who he really is.

The bible teaches us that Satan is a real individual. His original name was Lucifer, before his fall. In his pre-fall state, he was a beautiful cherub, one of many cherubim. These were angelic creatures whose role kept them around the throne of God. Lucifer’s particular role involved music and the harp. We read about it in two places in scripture, Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. There we learn the mistakes he made. He allowed pride in his heart and the moment God saw that pride, He cast him down from heaven to the earth( Ez 28:17). From it we also learn that angels have a free will to choose, much like we do (Jude 6). Satan chose to want something he could not have...to be like God (Is 14:14). In Ezekiel we also learn that they are created beings (28:15), that God had appointed Lucifer as an ‘anointed guardian cherub’ (28:14)and that he was in the garden of Eden (28:13). But there are also many qualities we give to Satan that he does not possess.

Too often we think Satan is as powerful as God. That’s what Satan wants us to think. But in reality, Satan has far less power than God. God is all knowing (omniscient). Satan has limited knowledge. He knows the past, but he does not know the future. He can only guess about the future. So he has his psychics and false prophets do just that. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they are way off. God is also all powerful (omnipotent). Satan, however has limited powers. He cannot make you do anything you choose not to do. He can influence your will but he cannot control it unless you give him that freedom. (People who are demon possessed have done just that!) His power is limited to the same power that all angels were given. God is present everywhere (omnipresent). Satan is limited and can only be in one place at one time. Because he has others serving him, other fallen angels of lesser rank, we now call demons—they are found everywhere and make it appear as if Satan were everywhere. God is truth. He cannot lie. Satan on the other hand is a liar and cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Jesus called him the Father of lies. (John 8:44) He is also called a murder, not because he kills people, but because he influences people to kill just as Cain killed Abel. His plan to murder the Messiah backfired when Jesus rose from the dead. God is eternal. He has no beginning and no ending. He always was and is and will be. Satan, on the other hand, did not exist until God created him (Col 1:16). Now he is an angelic spirit being which will live on, facing God’s judgment. His end is written. He will be bound in the ‘bottomless pit’ for 1000 years, then loosed for a short period of time (Rev 20:2,3) then he will eventually be thrown in to the ‘lake of fire’ a place of eternal torment where he will spend the rest of eternity. (Rev 20:10)

So what is Satan/Lucifer really like? He was a cherub. He was not the cutsie little valentines cherub that shoots arrows through your heart causing you to fall in love. No—far from it. A cherub’s job in heaven was to guard the throne of God. (Psalm 99:1) It is thought that because Lucifer had a part with harps, timbrels (tambourines or drums) and pipes. (Ez 28:13) He dwelt in a place of absolute beauty and was dressed in gems to reflect the glory of God. So we know his part around the throne of God involved music. Cherubim around the throne are described as saying words of praise and worship “"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." (Rev 4:8) It is quite likely then that Lucifer had a leadership role is this worship before the fall. Apparently he desired that same worship for himself because the Bible says that he wanted to be like God.

There are also fables about how Satan is like mankind. Yet the Bible teaches us some very different things. He is a spirit being, not a physical body. Psalm 104:4 Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire. Angels do have the ability to appear in a human-like form and this does happen in the Bible such as the angels that visited with Abraham and Daniel (Dan 9:21-22), or the angel which led Peter out of jail. But unlike people, angels do not procreate. Matthew 22:30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Therefore the notion that Satan or angels can have sex with humans is a notion stemming from movies such as Rosemary’s Baby, as well as error regarding giants called nephalim in Genesis. As spirit beings, they do not have the physical characteristics to be able to procreate. Another way Satan and fallen angels are not like man is in redemption from sin. God provided salvation for man through the blood of Christ’s sacrifice. However, fallen angels will never experience salvation. They are doomed to eternity without redemption (Matt 25:41). God designed hell just for them. They are asexual—that is—neither male nor female. God told mankind to be fruitful and multiply but he never told angels to multiply. He created all he needed. There are as many now as when He created them.

Yes, Satan is real. He is as real as God. For that reason, the apostle Paul reminded believers...“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”- Ephesians 6:12-13 We are in a battleground. Satan is at work full time to destroy what God wants to do in the lives of believers. He wants to destroy your relationship with Christ. He uses every temptation he can against you. He listens to what you say and aggravates your weaknesses. He also wants to destroy your marriage and your family. He causes believers to get their eyes on themselves and what they want instead of keeping their eyes on the Lord and what He wants. Soon selfishness overtakes the marriage and splits the family. Satan also wants to destroy the church. After all, it is the ‘bride of Christ’. He works on the church through division causing a church to split. God’s goal for the bride is unity in the Holy Spirit. A church that is filled with the Spirit, walking in the gifts, and listening to the voice of God is a strong church. But the moment people get their eyes on man, the church fails. Satan often does this through pastoral failures. One moment of seduction and sin can destroy the church.

How do we overcome Satan’s efforts? Revelations gives us a clue. It tells us… “"Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelations 12:10-11) Two methods are given here. First, using the blood of Jesus, the blood which cleanses us from sin, applied to our lives and hearts. Secondly, our testimony conquers Satan. We can tell what Christ has done for us. What you say is important. You are a first-hand witness of the power of Christ over sin, sickness and death. So take your stand against the enemy of our souls, Satan, and put on the whole armor of God. That armor is the Word of God, the gospel of salvation, the Holy Spirit’s power at work in our daily lives and so much more. A well equipped believer who knows who he is in Christ Jesus has nothing to fear from our enemy, Satan. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He [Christ] who is in you is greater than he [Satan] who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
J. Johnson

House For Sale?

You see the signs posted on every street….sometimes more than one… as our nation faces financial pressures like it has not known since the crash of 1929. Mortgage companies fold up their offices...Big box stores post their going out of business signs...and strip malls have vacancy signs in every window. It’s the ‘signs’ of the times!
Many of the youthful generation don’t have the base of knowledge that the seniors in our culture have, whose parents survived the breadlines of the ‘30’s, and some think it just a passing ‘phase’ that will soon pass and prosperous times will come again. Perhaps….and perhaps not… Only God knows the future. But while it is all a little scary for most of the population, not knowing if they will have a job tomorrow, or if they can continue living above their means as they have done for most of the last few decades...I am concerned for the spiritual state of the nation! Finances come and go. People eventually learn to deal with the way life is. For some it takes a little time as they learn to withdraw from opulence. For others, reality hits quick. But the spiritual state of what used to be called a ‘Christian’ nation is becoming more and more concerning.

The Church:
Let’s look first of all at the church… More and more, we can expect the state of the church here in America or Canada, to be like the state of the church in Europe. In France alone, only one fourth of one percent attend church regularly. In many European nations, churches stand dark and closed, or bought out by businesses or cults, or alternate world religions. The business of ‘faith’ has put the church up for sale. There is a new ‘dark ages’ looming on the spiritual horizon. Missionaries have been struggling to hold the line against the darkness. As costs skyrocket, faith takes a nosedive. When did it all begin? When skepticism, doubt, and atheism rose, and the Word of God lost it place of respect, not only in the educational circles, but in individual hearts.
The more tradition arises, so does apathy. With apathy, comes a lack of prayer and reading and study of the Word of God. It’s the little foxes that spoil the vine. As individuals allow new restrictive laws to hinder the freedom of worship and religion, soon, the general population accepts the status quo as ‘life’ and resists the effort it takes to change things. The church has posted it’s FOR SALE sign and when it’s gone….it’s gone! Recent news postings have informed the world that Christianity is not popular in some parts of the world. In Vietnam, a brand newly constructed church was destroyed on purpose by the local government officials and the Christian believers held back with cattle prods… In India, Christians are under severe attack for their faith. In Europe a recent survey reported: When the European Union asked citizens to rank values representing Europe, religion came last -- far behind "human rights," "democracy," "peace," "individual freedom" and other choices. Only 3% chose religion. A passive indifference has left Europe’s churches nearly empty. While atheism thrives, so does the Muslim faith and that frightens the few remaining Christians, especially as these non Christian groups become more dominant and assertive. In Germany, a wealthy furniture manufacturer is funding a "think tank of Enlightenment," a group of scientists and others committed to debunking religion...Around three-quarters of Europeans still describe themselves as Christians. But only a small minority go to church. In Western Europe, according to polls, fewer than 20% do. The pattern we see in Europe, we can expect here in America. Already, we have seen the massive decline in Sunday Schools. The role of the evangelist is already extinct in many denominations. Sunday night services have yielded to the priorities of our ‘entertainment generation’ who go to churches that please the media pallet. It appears that it’s an either/or taste...either the big mega church in entertainment mode, or the small home church movement. Traditional churches struggle to survive as never before. Tough finances are causing pastors to take secular jobs. Those once committed to a lifetime of serving God are taking a second look at their lives. Tithe paying members are holding their wallets tighter than ever. Those who attend the mega churches often don’t see the struggles of the smaller community church. Denominational officials are seeing a huge decline in pastors continuing in the profession they trained for, and instead learning new professions. Money has become the guideline for ministry. Certainly, there is a remnant out there of Godly men and women who are determined to weather the storm, by taking salary cuts, spending hours on their knees in prayer and raising a high spiritual standard for their church. But they are becoming more and more scarce. If you have such a pastor...take good care of him. Give him all the support you can, both spiritually and financially.
So what’s the problem? Where does one begin to point a finger? What do we begin to change now to stop the dyke from leaking? We live in an age of compromise. One of the dangerous attitudes the church has often adopted is the need for constant change….new ways of doing things to please the limited attention span of the media motivated generation...new songs, new choruses, new bands, new décor, new buildings, new business-like church organizational structures, new titles of church pastors...and worst of all, a passion exalting love and unity above purity of doctrine. In recent years, I have been increasingly alarmed at the pervasive views of fundamental and evangelical believers who seem to adopt whatever they see or hear on the radio or TV as if it were good Bible doctrine. Cults are on the rise. Those who do not know their Bibles are easily deceived. Pastors who fail to preach the clear doctrines of the Word, fail to feed their people the truth that will set them free and keep them that way. More and more of our younger generation are questioning the reality of ‘judgment’, the definition of ‘sin’, resulting in a ‘softness’ that is less offensive. There is weariness and impatience with those who do ’spiritual warfare’ because of it’s negative nature, opting for a ’positive’ faith that makes one ‘feel good.’ Yes, the church is for sale… but who is buying?

The Temple of God…You
We can point our fingers at the leadership of our churches, at denominations who slowly accepted such things as divorce, homosexuality and ‘prosperity’ rather than hold the old hard line of previous years. But in each of our lives, each one of us must give an accounting of our lives, what we have done for God, where we choose to stand and what we choose to believe. For many today, their lives of compromise have taken them down a path leading further and further from the Word of God. The Tyndales and the Wesleys and the Spurgeons of another generation would be shocked at the tolerance of most of today’s generation of ‘believers’ who no longer stand by the absolutes of the Bible.
Where do you stand believer? Is the Bible the absolute Word of God? Did He mean it when he called adultery and fornication “sin”? Have God’s standards changed? No, of course not. God does not change. We do! And we must change! We must have a restoration to Biblical values as never before! Faith in God and the freedoms our nation has preserved up to this point depends on it. It will take spiritual ‘guts’ to take a stand today like the spiritual giants of the past. Where is the church today who longs for a pastor with a heart after God rather than a heart after prestige, position and power. God give us people once again who will choose to serve God, no matter what their salary, no matter what their benefits, no matter how much flack they get from their peers. God longs for a people with clean hands and pure heart. Those that want to feast in His holy presence need that requirement. I learned recently that the Jewish people, before eating bread, will wash their hands in a special way, then say a special prayer of blessing before the meal of bread begins. Today, we need to be feasting on the ‘Bread of Life’, but we come to the table with dirty hands and soiled hearts. We ask God to bless us...rather than bless the bread. Then we reach out and grab all we can get. It must break the heart of God! Yes, too many have the For Sale signs up in their own front yards, selling out to the highest bidder… We listen to the voices around us, flattering our ‘new enlightenment’ which in reality is just a little more compromise. We let that flattery change us and adapt us to the culture around us. We become like chameleons, changing with our surroundings. But if we would stay in the Word, we would remain steadfast...marked by the absolutes that Jesus taught his disciples. If Jesus were to come back today to find a band of disciples He could use to change the world, would he find men and women of integrity? People of absolute values? People whose lives matched their walk?
We face a challenging year ahead of us. Some cities are already in a depression such as Detroit MI. where unemployment is 21% and the average house sells for $18,513. They face a bleak year. But even in the leanest of times, when we put our faith and trust in God, when we look to Him for our resources, when we believe He is able, He will come through. He is still the God of the supernatural. But we must be a people who will listen to and obey our supernatural God. We must want Him more than anything around us. We must be willing to sacrifice the things we think are important for what God thinks is important. We cannot take our houses and lands and bank accounts with us into eternity...but we can take people. And that’s what we are all called to do…”go and make disciples of all nations…”
If you have had your spiritual house up For Sale this past year, doubting the ability of God or the willingness of God to intervene on your behalf, it’s time to get back to the basics once again. Nothing is more important than time spent with God...in His Word, in his presence, at His feet. Miracles come to those who put their trust in God. Take down your For Sale sign and replace it with a sign that tells the world you are a building dedicated to God, ready for miracles, open for the impossible, believing for the supernatural. This is God’s opportunity to bring glory! Let your sign read: “Sold Out...for God!” Take some time to give yourself to ministry. Remember His promise…. “Give and it shall be given…. pressed down, shaken together and running over….” give of yourself, and let God meet all your needs. A loving God responds to generous hearts! I’m not For Sale! How about you? J. Johnson

Avoiding the enemies traps...

Every year we read, or hear in the news, about another pastor or spiritual leader falling into the trap of sin. We all tend to point our fingers and say, “I’d never do that!” Yet, thousands of believers every year fall into traps of sin, snares of temptation, pitfalls that hurt not only our Christian walk and integrity, but every believer and unbeliever we know. The thing we tend to struggle with on a daily basis is overcoming those traps, snares and pitfalls. As Christians give attention for even a moment to the seductive voice of the enemy, they fall into his traps that promise better things… more satisfaction… greater achievement… at the expense of ignoring the promises of God given in the Word of God. Paul warned young Timothy...:For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Tim 4:3-4) These myths are the traps of Satan. They fall into three basic categories: intellectual, emotional and sensual.
Intellectual traps:
Today we live in a very intellectual world. The systems in place pride themselves in the intellectual prowess of humans. They tend to argue against anything that would attack the premises of intellectual superiority and how education is supposed to cure all the ills of the human race. While educators promise utopian solutions, man continues in a downward spiral as jails grow overcrowded, drug abuse becomes rampant, and corporate greed causes financial giants to fall. Every strata of humanity continues to fail. They write God off as useless and irrelevant. Paul the apostle had a solution here too. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 RSV) First of all, he attacks the ‘arguments’ of men and their reasonings., that is, their rationalizations by which they support and defend their spiritual errors. These ‘arguments’ are rooted in pride. Pride needs to be placed in subjection to Christ himself. It is a matter of choice. We must choose to bring our minds into spiritual submission to Christ. He is Truth. He is Life. He has the answers that human intellectuals demand. We can try to understand the ways of men with our flawed sinful minds, but in reality, only Christ can know what is in the minds of men. He made us after all.
Emotional traps:
We want to feel good. We love a ‘feel good’ gospel. We want the preacher to tell us that God loves us and His grace is far reaching. It’s true, but the other side is also true. His judgment is also far reaching. Our desire for emotional pleasure, happiness and satisfaction—when placed in carnal pursuits—will always lead us astray. Paul again warns young Timothy of the dangers of emotional excess in the last days. But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2 Tim 3:1-4 RSV) The key words that stand out here are “stress”, ‘lovers of self” “lovers of money” “proud” “arrogant” “abusive” “disobedient” “ungrateful” “haters” “reckless” “lovers of pleasure”….and every one expresses the emotional characteristics of our culture today. Paul again has a solution for this as he continues in v 5 ...holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people. (2 Tim 3:5 RSV) Notice that these evil people are playing a game of pretend. They are actors (hypocrites) with a ‘form’ of religion but without power. Paul advises that we stay away from such people. Their influence can drag us down to their level. Sadly, too many of our churches today are filled with these pretenders. How can we tell the difference? The fruit of the life of a truly sincere and Godly Christian will be evident. They will be people of prayer, constantly in the Word of God, not seeking selfish interest or gain. Pleasures that satisfy for a moment should not have the highest place in their life. When Paul advises us to “avoid such people” he does not mean that we are to ignore them. After all, they need Jesus. But we can choose our friends, and the church we attend carefully. Place your feet in a church that tells it like the Bible says it. A ‘feel good’ gospel is not an honest presentation of the whole picture. Find a church that preaches power over sin, power to live in victory, power over the devil and the power of the Word and the blood of Jesus. Without these elements in the church today, the church itself becomes powerless.
Sensual traps
Satan is a master of the counterfeit .(2 Cor. 11:4,13,15). He masquerades as an angel of light, deceiving even the people of God. Some find themselves giving an ear to his seductive lies, “Its OK for Christians to have sex outside of marriage, to enjoy the love God created.” When we see spiritual authorities fail, we tell ourselves, if they can do it...we can too. It’s a lie! Those sensual traps he sets up for us are sure to catch us if we do not know the Word and, like Jesus, throw it at the devil when he comes with his seductive lies. He sets us up when he sees that our desires to please ourselves are more dominant that our desire to please the Lord.
The world tries to deal with sensual traps using laws, peer pressure, rehabilitation, jail, psychology, and any type of coercion to try to influence us to good behavior. But the root of the problem is pride….pride that leads us to believe we are OK and above others. Pride causes us to look down on others, especially those who have fallen into open blatant sin. The moment we think we are above the sin, we risk becoming victims of it. When we neglect the basics— reading our Bibles, going faithfully to church, spending time in prayer—we are sliding backwards into sin.
If we become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, we have a form of religion that has no power. When we major on entertainment without a balance of prayer and intercession, we are in trouble.
Jesus promised that we would suffer persecution and be killed for His sake. The real prosperity message of the Word is that our souls would prosper, and that our treasures are to be laid up where moth and rust do not destroy. Today, our self-centered Christianity asks “What’s in it for me? What do I get out of it?” We want our rights, our needs, our way. We don’t want persecution or suffering, yet these very things are what makes for strong Christians and vibrant churches. It caused Christianity to blossom in it’s early stages. Today it continues to build strong churches in countries such as China and Russia where Christianity suffers constant harassment. It is never persecution that destroys the church but material prosperity. Today, our churches tend to be more like retirement communities and country clubs, where believers can safely retreat from the world, instead of being soul-saving stations where the lost find help and gain spiritual strength. Satan loves it when we entertain ourselves instead of fulfilling Jesus mandate to “go into all the world and preach the gospel”. While some sit idle, others are willing to go and seek the lost, tear down spiritual stronghold and challenge Satan’s grasp on God’s creation.
Spiritual warfare should be a part of every believers life. First of all it demands that we recognize that Satan is real and is out to destroy our walk with God. Then it demands that we take action. That action means prayer. In our own strength we can do nothing to counter Satan’s attacks. But through prayer, we can counterattack the strategies of Satan. When we pray, all the resources of heaven are working on our behalf. We have other weapons too. They are powerful, and they accomplish something. They destroy Satan’s strongholds of evil, but we must use them. They must be part of our daily life. Paul lists them in Galatians and calls them the ‘armor of God’.
We have to choose to be over-comers. Avoiding Satan’s schemes is possible when we stay spiritually alert, in the Word, with a clear focus and our weapons ready. As a good soldier goes into battle, he goes fully equipped, physically fit, and with the mission clearly in mind. He does not allow distractions to deter him from his purpose. God wants each of us to be good soldiers. He is seeking those who will avoid the enemies traps, to do the work of God, to disciple new recruits. What will you be in this New Year? A victim or a victor? Trapped or triumphant? Paul encouraged the churches saying… “I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. (Philippians 4:12,13 The Message)
The One who makes us who we are is Jesus, our victorious Lord! He makes me a winner!

J. Johnson

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